Shopify cart drawer upsells: what to put in your cart drawer to raise AOV

When a shopper adds a product, the cart drawer slides in. For a few seconds they’re looking at their order, deciding whether to check out or keep shopping. That makes the drawer one of the best places in the store to raise average order value — and most themes leave it nearly empty.

What to put in your cart drawer

Not every block belongs in every store. These are the ones that tend to earn their space:

1. A reward progress bar

“$12 away from free shipping” at the top of the drawer gives shoppers a reason to add one more item. It works best with a second goal, such as a free gift, so there’s always another step.

2. “You may also like” upsells

Two to four products that pair with what’s in the cart. Keep them cheap relative to the cart — the ideal upsell closes the gap to the next reward. Layouts: a carousel, list, grid or compact row.

3. One-tap add-ons

Gift wrap, shipping protection or a warranty, added with a single checkbox. They’re small, easy to say yes to, and add margin.

4. Trust and urgency

• Trust badges and payment icons answer “is this safe?” before checkout.
• A customer rating or review reminds shoppers why they’re buying.
• A delivery date (“Get it by Thursday”) helps people who need it in time.
• A cart timer adds urgency — use it honestly, and never empty the cart when it ends.

5. Express checkout

Shop Pay, Apple Pay, Google Pay and PayPal buttons in the drawer let ready buyers skip a step.

6. An empty-cart state

An empty drawer is a dead end. Show a few best-sellers instead.

How to add these to your Shopify cart drawer

Most theme cart drawers show the items, a subtotal and a checkout button. Adding more means editing theme code (and redoing it after theme updates) or replacing the drawer with an app.

The Kai cart drawer replaces your theme’s drawer without editing your theme:

1. Turn on the drawer in Kai. If you already run a Kai progress bar, one click moves it into the drawer with the same tiers and design.
2. Pick a template: Clean & Simple, Social Proof, Promo Banner, Fresh Wellness, Premium Dark or Earth Tones.
3. Add blocks from 16 options — upsells, add-ons, timer, discount code field, delivery date, trust badges, rating, review, promo banner, announcement bar, express checkout and more — and drag them into place.
4. Choose the layout: a side drawer or floating card on desktop; full screen or a swipe-down bottom sheet on phones.
5. Preview on your live store as a draft that only you can see, then publish.

Default drawer texts are translated automatically into 20 languages, and drawer analytics show opens, checkout clicks, orders and the average order value of drawer orders.

Keep it focused

A drawer with every block switched on is a cluttered drawer. Start with the progress bar, upsells and trust badges. Add one block at a time and watch whether checkout clicks hold steady while order value rises.

For more ways to raise order value, see how to increase average order value on Shopify.